Merger commission timing may be rushed

Published 7:28 am Thursday, August 18, 2011

The clock is ticking for analysts from the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute, who will be helping members of a commission studying the possibility of merging the Dalton and Whitfield County general governments.

The analysts met Wednesday with members of the commission, going over the terms of the contract and the scope of the study. The institute will receive $19,500 for their work, $9,750 from the county and $9,750 from the city.

“This will just be a broad overview because we don’t have much time,” said analyst Betty Hudson.

Hudson said studies like this typically take about a year, but the contract between the commission and the institute calls for the work to be done by December, when the commission is expected to issue a report on the feasibility of consolidation. Under the law that created the commission, the commission must hold a public hearing on that report within 30 days of issuing the report. If members recommend consolidation, by law they must draft a charter for the new government by April and hold another public hearing on the charter within 15 days of completing it.

“We hope that they (the analysts) can bring some of their work in before that (December) so we can discuss it,” said commission Chairman Frank Thomason, a former superintendent of Dalton Public Schools.

The Vinson Institute will focus on law enforcement, parks and recreation, public works, utilities and administration.

“We’ll be talking with department heads and reviewing the budgets, finding out what the different departments do and comparing the city with the county,” said Hudson.

Whitfield County Board of Commissioners Chairman Mike Babb, who is a member of the merger commission, suggested bringing in experts from the Vinson Institute.

“A lot of us are limited in time. Many of (the merger committee members) are employed. I’m employed by the county as a part-time commissioner. To get this done, you need people who can focus on this, who have experience with it,” Babb said.

The Vinson Institute has an extensive background in this area, having helped several local governments in Georgia that have merged or considered merging. Members of the institute conducted a workshop earlier this year with members of the Dalton City Council and the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners when they were looking at asking the General Assembly to form the merger commission.